I posted details of my Meccano scrollsaw on the "welcome" forum when I introduced myself. The idea is to fiddle around building my own saw while I save my pennies waiting to buy a "proper" saw. Carl suggested some improvements and I have added some of my own. Here is the Meccano Scrollsaw Mk II.
I am using a more aggressive motor and getting up to 400spm, at a rough guess, before it starts hammering and trying to fly off the bench. I will have to try and calibrate the speed. The clamps are now pivoted (thanks Carl) and have a quick release mechanism (a collar with grub screw) although you still have to clamp the blade into the pivoting strips. But if you pre-clamp the blades you can easily change the assembly. The turnbuckle to adjust blade tension is also much more robust with less play in its bearings. I also added a big spoked brass wheel as a flywheel on the crankshaft.
My first pass found it tough to cut wood. The Meccano Scrollsaw MkII was cutting 3mm birch plywood this morning from a 4cm square piece of scrap wood, so it's definitely improving. I have added a picture of the puzzle so you can see how small the cuts are (using a Niqua 2# blade) with the saw. The pieces average about 1/3 of a square inch, or about half "normal" puzzle area.
Chris
I am using a more aggressive motor and getting up to 400spm, at a rough guess, before it starts hammering and trying to fly off the bench. I will have to try and calibrate the speed. The clamps are now pivoted (thanks Carl) and have a quick release mechanism (a collar with grub screw) although you still have to clamp the blade into the pivoting strips. But if you pre-clamp the blades you can easily change the assembly. The turnbuckle to adjust blade tension is also much more robust with less play in its bearings. I also added a big spoked brass wheel as a flywheel on the crankshaft.
My first pass found it tough to cut wood. The Meccano Scrollsaw MkII was cutting 3mm birch plywood this morning from a 4cm square piece of scrap wood, so it's definitely improving. I have added a picture of the puzzle so you can see how small the cuts are (using a Niqua 2# blade) with the saw. The pieces average about 1/3 of a square inch, or about half "normal" puzzle area.
Chris
Comment